It was just after 5:30 a.m. last Wednesday when police officers responded to the scene of a reported home invasion attempt. The homeowner told authorities that three men had tried to break through his door but were unsuccessful.
They left, the police took a report, and that should have been the end of that. Only, it wasn’t.
The next night, investigators believe four men came back to the home armed with a sledgehammer. The homeowner said he was sleeping before being awakened by banging on his front door. At that point he retrieved his rifle — no doubt ready from the incident the night before — and prepared for a violent confrontation.
He told law enforcement that when the men continued to attempt to enter the door, he fired at them.
The suspects fired back as they ran to a waiting vehicle to flee the scene. Detectives found bullet holes in both the living room and bedroom windows, but apparently no one was hurt.
Others in the south Seattle area were not so fortunate in the week before Christmas. One man told officers he was approached by several suspects with firearms as he walked home from a casino. They forced him into his residence and took cash as they left.
No gunshots were reported in that incident.
Police reported the two crimes fit a pattern of recent robberies in Seattle where the victims are of Asian descent. There is no word on whether the two brazen attacks last week were related.
As the intended home invasion victim proved, it is always a good idea to be prepared for violent crime. And proper preparation more often than not means being legally armed and trained on how to use a weapon. It may have been the difference between life and death.
